


Heroes

by echoboo



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Alternate Universe - Teen Titans (Animated Series) Setting, Best Friends, Casual Teen Titans, Casual Young Justice, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, High School, M/M, Mystery, NO CAPES, Past Dick Grayson/Zatanna Zatara, Past Donna Troy/Roy Harper - Freeform, Pining, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, Young Justice AU, i don't know how to tag, teen titans au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26507350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoboo/pseuds/echoboo
Summary: Not a lot happens at East River High School. For the East River Titans, they've only ever had to worry about the small things, like getting through Mr. Adams' history class or catching a football. Some of them have been friends for years, others are making new ones, some are just beginning to confront their feelings and some are cursed with unrequited ones.But when a new girl shows up at East River with the hidden ability to manipulate ultraviolet energy, a series of mysteries begins to unravel in the town. And just when they thought being young, dumb and in love were their only problems.A YOUNG JUSTICE/TEEN TITANS HIGH SCHOOL AU
Relationships: Artemis Crock & Dick Grayson, Artemis Crock & Zatanna Zatara, Artemis Crock/Wally West, Barbara Gordon & Zatanna Zatara, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Bart Allen/Eduardo Dorado Jr., Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes, Dick Grayson & Wally West, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Garfield Logan/Raven, Jaime Reyes/Traci Thurston, Karen Beecher/Mal Duncan, Kon-El | Conner Kent/M'gann M'orzz, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper/Jade Nguyen, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake, Tim Drake/Cassie Sandsmark
Comments: 20
Kudos: 34





	1. Worst Day of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I've been wanting to post this for so long, and I've been writing it for a while now. I originally started it as a sort of art book -- so like a fanfic with accompanying art pieces.
> 
> While I've included many Teen Titans and Titans characters, this book mainly follows the Young Justice characters and their story lines.
> 
> Also posted on Wattpad. I made some cool character art but will only be posting it on there, so go check it out.
> 
> Also made a Spotify playlist for this: https://www.tinyurl.com/HEROESbyECHOBOO
> 
> All art is my own.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of school, and not everybody is particularly happy about that.

**CHAPTER ONE  
** "WORST DAY OF THE YEAR"

**IT WAS THE WORST DAY OF THE YEAR.** As much was decided when her alarm clock went off, blaring the same godawful tone she’d had the privilege of not hearing for the last three months. Eyes refusing to open, she buried her head into her duvet, groaning.

 _Make it stop_ , she chanted in her head as she willed herself to shut off the alarm psychically. When that didn’t work, she threw an arm out in that general direction, an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction washing over her as she hit the snooze button on her first try. _Finally, peace_.

Several knocks rattled against her bedroom door, cutting her momentary sense of bliss short.

“Artemis!” Her mother’s voice rang through her bedroom. “Get up! Or your sister is going to leave without you!”

 _Go ahead_ , she wanted to say back. _It’s not like I want to go back to school._

Artemis groaned. Just the thought of the first day of school made her want to sink further into her mattress and never leave. _But Mom would probably drag me to school with her bare hands. And ground me._

She groaned again. It truly was the worst day of the year.

With a sigh, Artemis tossed her duvet to the foot of her bed, immediately regretting her decision as the cold air of her bedroom attacked her arms and legs. But she didn’t have the energy to roll up in a ball for warmth, much less actually get out of bed yet. She did, however, manage to finally crack open her eyes.

Scanning her room, she could tell there was something different about it. It was still slightly dim out, the soft rays of early morning light dribbling through her blinds and hitting the band posters on her wall. Her rug was more covered by the contents of her room from a summer of laziness and disorganization than it was covering hardwood. Her closet door was open, leaving on display the hangers of her beloved thrift store flannels and fleece sweaters. Her backpack was lying lifelessly at the other end of her room from when it was effectively discarded off her shoulders and untouched for the last few months. On the back of her door was her favourite Panic! At the Disco poster with the rip at the bottom from when she forgot to leave her door open for Brucely to leave, and next to it the overflowing contents of her laundry basket were spilling out onto the floor. Her walls, which were painted green as a result of a spontaneous decision a few summers ago and as a catalyst for a month-long grounding from her mother, were… well, still green.

Her room was largely the same, really. There was just something about waking up at quarter-past-seven in the morning for the first day of junior year that, to her, hit differently. And not in a good way.

Summer break was the same length every year, but this year it felt especially short. With half of her time being taken up by her less-than-ideal summer job at the drycleaner’s shop downtown, Artemis felt like she didn’t get to hang out with her friends nearly as much as she wanted. Sure, they had their fair share of adventures, campfires and parties, but the mere thought of having to be back in the dull corridors of public high school this morning was really taking away from her memories of her summer experiences. And with her sister hogging their shared car the past week, Artemis had been stuck at home for the last couple days of summer hanging out with her mom.

Still, it wasn’t that it was a bad summer vacation. It was just short. Too short.

Another knock bellowed against her door. “Artemis!”

“I’m up!” She grumbled from her spot in her bed. It wasn’t until after she heard her mother’s wheelchair roll back down the hall that she managed to sit up and get changed.

When Artemis finally emerged from her room in her finest school attire – a plain white tee, jeans shorts, a flannel and her beat up black Chucks – with her empty backpack slung over her shoulders, she found her mother awaiting her at the breakfast table in their apartment’s small kitchen with a paper bag in her lap, containing what Artemis could only assume was her homemade lunch.

“Jade is waiting in the car downstairs.” Paula held the bag out to her daughter, her other hand resting against one of the wheels of her chair. “She was getting restless so she went down to go warm up the car.”

Artemis willed herself not to groan again. Instead, she took the bag from her mom and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Bye, Mom. Thanks for lunch.”

As Artemis was slipping through the front door of their apartment, she could hear her mother’s voice from behind her.

“Have a good first day, Artemis!”

“‘Good’ is a stretch,” she muttered under her breath as the door clicked shut.

The stairs down to their apartment building’s lobby felt especially painful today; the building’s rickety elevator had been largely unreliable for the last year, forcing most occupants to take the stairs if they wanted to get up and down at a reasonable pace – which, in Artemis’ case, was a lovely four flights. When she finally got outside, Artemis found their grey Jetta idling, her sister in the driver seat, reapplying her lipstick as she waited. Part of her was surprised she hadn’t left without her.

“Took you long enough,” said Jade as Artemis settled into the passenger seat, closing the car door behind her. She barely had enough time to click her seatbelt in place before the car pulled away from the curb.

“Why do you want to be there so early?” Artemis let her backpack fall between her legs as she reached into her lunch bag, pulling out an apple. “It’s the first day of school.”

 _And the end of summer._ _If anything, I wouldn’t show up at all,_ she thought as she took a bite from the fruit.

“Unlike _some_ people, sis, I don’t want to be fashionably late for my first day of senior year.” Jade slowed at the red light, taking the moment to readjust her already-perfect hair in the rearview mirror.

 _God, you’re so pretentious._ Artemis almost let that slip out of her mouth; she surely would’ve been left on the side of the road for that. Instead, she settled for, “We’re not even going to be late.”

Jade shot her a side glare. “Well, if you took any longer getting out of bed we would’ve been.”

Artemis returned her sister’s glare and opened her mouth to shoot back, but quickly shut it again, deciding against it. Anything she could do – or not do – to help make this day go by smoother, she’d go for. With a huff, she crossed her arms instead and sunk in her seat, taking another bite of her apple.

By the time their car rolled into the parking lot, Artemis was sunken so far into her chair that her head was probably barely visible through the passenger door window. In the short drive from their apartment to school, Artemis’ energy had depleted so far that she was determined to stay curled up in this position, even as the car turned off beneath her when Jade took the keys out of the ignition. As she yawned, she cursed at herself for not having enough time to make coffee this morning. Surely if she let her eyes shut, she would be out like a light; God knows how she was going to get through her first class this morning.

“Get out, I have to lock the car.” said Jade from where she had already stepped out of the car, leaning down to glare at her sister some more.

Sighing, Artemis forced herself up with whatever energy she had left, sliding back up the seat so her head was against the head rest. She didn’t want to look, but it was unavoidable because from here everything was in clear view; the filling of the parking lot with cars and the bustling of students, freshmen wandering around looking for a familiar face, all telltale signs of the start of the school year.

She subdued the feeling of dread in her stomach as she pushed open the car door.

Stepping out and slinging her backpack over her shoulder, Artemis took in a deep breath, and then groaned. This is not where she wanted to be right now. It was too early, and there were definitely too many people around her. She felt her shoulders deflate. She was undoubtedly still stuck in summer-mode. Who could blame her?

“I have tryouts after school so find your own way home,” said Jade as she locked the car, dropping the keys in her bag and sauntering off in the opposite direction.

 _Perfect_. The most Artemis could do was glare at her sister as she walked off.

Returning her attention to the matter at hand, Artemis slumped again as she gazed at the scene before her. It hadn’t gotten any less busy in the parking lot since she’d been loitering around the Jetta, but people were starting to filter towards the school; if she wanted to, she could definitely spot some familiar faces of people in her year – except she didn’t want to. Instead she let her gaze fall on the school, its three-storeys-of-hell meticulously decorated with tinted windows and rain damage, the bold, rusted letters of ‘ _EAST RIVER HIGH SCHOOL_ ’ hanging over the front doors like a burden. Jade had parked a bit of a ways away from the front since they were one of the last trickling in, so after quickly rolling the sleeves of her flannel up to her elbows, Artemis began to weave through the parked cars, her eyes fixated on the pavement to avoid accidentally making eye contact with anybody she might know.

Just as she was crossing over one of the aisles of cars, she felt a rumble beneath her feet, the engine of a car roaring well into earshot until it was right beside her, pulling into the empty spot next to her. It was a silver BMW 7 Series, complete with its tinted windows and classy blue-and-white logo, affixed to a silver shell so clean and spotless that Artemis could grimace at her crisp reflection in its side.

It was easily the nicest car in the parking lot. As the engine turned off and its doors began to open, Artemis didn’t need to look to know who the driver was.

“Nice car,” Artemis started, crossing her arms. “It’s like you’re trying to flex or something.”

“Not my choice,” said Dick Grayson as he shut the driver’s side door, juggling his backpack and jacket in his other arm. “I’m just the designated driver.”

“Oh, please,” said a voice from behind him, on the other side of the car. Artemis peeked over Dick’s shoulder to see Jason Todd leaning forward against the roof of the car from where he’d gotten out of the back seat, his blue eyes narrowed at his adoptive brother. “You love it.”

“You’re welcome to drive yourself, Jay.” Dick shot a glance at him over his shoulder as he dropped his bag to the ground, shrugging on his oversized denim baseball jacket that looked more like a fresh find in an attic than something a driver of a luxury vehicle such as him would wear. “With that driver’s license you don’t have,” he added.

“Anyway,” Dick continued, “I almost have a full car now with _this_ one.” Without missing a beat, he reached behind him, grabbing the shoulder of another, shorter boy who had just emerged from the seat behind Dick’s. Although Artemis only managed to get a small glance at the kid before he was grabbed, she already knew it was Tim, Dick and Jason’s younger brother who she had met a few times before. He barely had time to gasp in shock before Dick was pulling him into his underarm, locking him in a headlock and reaching up with his other hand to ruffle his hair. The young boy squirmed as he tried to get out of his grip, but to no avail.

“Oh, stop it,” said a female voice from the passenger side, making Artemis grin as she looked up to meet the gaze of Barbara Gordon. “You’re embarrassing him on his first day.”

Considering her words, Dick released his younger brother as Barbara rounded the front of the car, immediately pulling Artemis into an embrace once she was within arm’s reach. She may have gotten a mouthful of red hair in the process, but she gladly ignored it as she greeted her friend.

“Nah, I think he’ll do plenty of that on his own,” Jason piped in, arms still resting on the roof of the BMW. Tim shot him a look as he straightened out his jacket.

“Anyway, like I said, almost a full car,” Dick continued to Artemis, shouldering his backpack as the two girls parted. “Your mom’s place isn’t that far off our route. I’d be happy to scoop you some time.”

“Although the idea of riding in a full car with you four at eight in the morning is tempting, I think I’ll pass.” Artemis let out a small chuckle – which promptly turned into a grimace as she was quick to remember just how _wonderful_ her commute was this morning. “Although, if my sister keeps threatening to leave without me in _our_ car, I might have to take you up on that.”

Barbara lent her a smile. “Offer’s always there.”

“Um,” Dick interjected, shifting his attention to the redhead with a smirk, “I’m sorry, are _you_ the driver?”

Before Barbara could reply, a dull school bell tone was released into the air, causing another wave of students to head towards the school. Artemis frowned. _Guess the fun’s over._

Forgetting about her previous quarrel, Barbara turned to the youngest of the boys. “Okay, Tim, do you know where you’re going?”

He shrugged. “Steph just texted me to meet them in the gym for orientation.”

“Perfect,” said Dick, taking the opportunity to reach out to rub his head again, which Tim swiftly ducked away from. “Have a good day at school, buddy. Make some friends. Don’t skip class. Remember to always address Mr. Jordan as Highball. He’ll love it.”

Tim shot him a wary glance. “Like… the drink?”

Artemis rolled her eyes as Tim started backing away. “See you guys later,” he said before pivoting and heading towards the front doors. When Artemis turned back to face her friends, Dick was the image of pride as he watched his brother ascend the steps into his first day of high school, while Barbara had her face in her hands.

“O-kay,” Jason started, drawing out the word, “I’m gonna take that as my cue to leave.” He started to back away from the car before Dick spoke up again.

“Hey, same goes for you, buddy.”

Jason ignored him as he walked away, flipping him off over his shoulder in response.

“God, you’re insufferable,” Barbara muttered with one of her hands still over her face.

“But you love me,” Dick countered, shooting her a grin as they headed inside.

Even though a quarter of the student body population has changed since Artemis was last in these halls, the school looked pretty much the same. The corridors were still the same dull hue under the buzzing fluorescent lights, jam packed with students hanging onto their last moments with their friends before class and those rushing off to catch the second bell. The lockers were still dented and scratched, accompanied by the occasional slam of its metal doors, and all of the classroom doors were in the same place. The people were the same. It was still loud enough that she had to speak at a volume a tad bit higher than normal. It’d been three months but it was like she never left.

As the trio wove through the crowds, they quickly came up on Dick’s locker, which was three lockers down from Artemis’, both in the same place they were before. Likewise, in between the two lockers was a familiar fountain of dark brown hair, leaning against the metal doors with her arms crossed. When she spotted them coming towards her, she stood up, adjusting her leather bag over her shoulder as she huffed.

“Took you people long enough.” Zatanna Zatara pursed her lips as she approached them. She looked like a personification of both relaxation and impatience combined – if they were dressed in a chic pencil skirt and blazer. “I was beginning to think you all ditched and didn’t tell me. Which would’ve been extra harsh because I don’t think I can face Adams alone.”

“Sorry, had to give Tim the proper send off.” Dick smiled at his friend as she gave the other two girls quick hugs.

Zatanna narrowed her eyes at him as she pulled away from Artemis. “You told him about that dumb nickname for Mr. Jordan, didn’t you?”

“I mean…” Dick trailed off, scratching the back of his neck as his smile got ever-so wider.

With a sigh from Zatanna, another school bell noise rang through the halls, which were already much emptier since Artemis last looked around. It was the second bell, meaning they should definitely already be seated in class by now.

As if reading her mind, Dick swiftly evaded Zatanna’s glare and grabbed Barbara’s elbow. “Barb and I got math, see you guys later!” He tossed the words over his shoulder as the two headed in the direction they came.

Luckily for Artemis, the door to her first class, which she had with Zatanna, was right next to where they were. It was History with Mr. Nathaniel Adams, an ex-soldier who looked like he could rip apart a log with his bare hands and whose lessons most of the time consisted of relating any textbook history tidbit with boring recollections of his military days – which, not to mention, were stories everybody in the entire school had heard at least three times already. She didn’t blame Zatanna for not wanting to face him alone.

They managed to make it into their seats before Adams started the class, third row from the back. They took the desks next to each other, with an empty one on the other side of Artemis, leaving her with some much needed breathing room. This classroom was already stuffy with its desks packed from wall-to-wall and its historical figures posters and the box-back TV with its ancient DVD player for old war documentaries. Add thirty-some students and it was nearly suffocating.

When Adams finally started speaking, Artemis felt her eyelids begin to droop, the tiredness from earlier in the car finally catching up to her. She dared to let one of her elbows rest against her desk, propping her head up as she relaxed into her position. _There could be worse classes to fall asleep in on the first day_.

As she was starting to doze to the lullaby of Adams droning on about what to expect in Grade 11 History, the classroom door was suddenly thrown open, a mop of red hair and a bright coloured windbreaker tumbling through the doorway.

“Sorry I’m late, Mr. Adams,” said the boy, a habitual chuckle escaping his lips as he scratched the back of his neck. “Got here as fast as I could.” He briefly regarded the teacher standing at the front, who was looking back at him with an unimpressed gaze.

“Good morning, Mr. West.” Adams’ tone was equally as stoic, the name rolling off his tongue like he’s said it plenty of times before in similar situations as this. “It’s the first day and I can see you’re already off to a great start.”

“It’s a new year,” the redhead reasoned, offering a grin. “Who knows, things might go up from here.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” The teacher narrowed his eyes as the class let out a small snicker. “Just take your seat,” he digressed, turning back to the white board.

It probably took longer that it should have for Artemis to realize that the only open seat was the one next to her – a realization that caused every muscle in her body to tense up and her frown to grow deeper, eyes wide and throat eliciting a groan that she had to physically hold herself back from releasing into the classroom.

There were always going to be people that got on other peoples’ nerves. That was a guarantee in life as Artemis had come to accept. And for her, that person was Wally West.

Wally was the most obnoxious kid she knew since they first spoke in the seventh grade when they were in the same homeroom and he, after learning what her surname was, took it upon himself to call her only by ‘Crockpot’ for the whole year. Since then, all he’s ever done is get on her nerves to the point where Artemis is sure he must enjoy it.

And he’d been given plenty of opportunities to. In any other, more bearable world, a person would have the liberty of avoiding annoying people like him. But unfortunately for Artemis, Wally had been a thorn in her side for the better part of four years, with him happening to be best-friends-bordering-on-brothers with Dick, and with Zee and Barb somehow seeing him for more than the pain in the ass he was. Naturally, all of that warranted him to constantly be blessing her with his presence. She wondered what she did to receive such bad luck.

As Adams resumed his speech that Artemis was eager to ignore, Wally wove through the aisles towards the two girls, handing out greetings and occasional fist bumps to those he passed who he knew before dropping his backpack at the legs of the empty desk with an unceremoniously loud thud. Artemis rolled her eyes as she buried her chin deeper into the blanket her arms were making on her desk. “Nice of you to show up,” she scoffed.

Although she was almost sure she’d said it quietly enough, Wally’s eyes shot straight to her, a grin appearing on his face as he sat down. With a short chuckle, he leaned over his desk, tipping his head at the girl on Artemis’ other side. “Hear that, Zee? Sounds like Crockpot is happy to see me.”

 _Great. Crockpot’s made its return._ Even though Artemis wasn’t looking in her direction, she could feel Zatanna’s efforts to stifle her grin. Meanwhile, Artemis was trying her hardest not to shove his smug face into his desk. She settled for glaring, shooting daggers in his direction.

“Don’t push it, West.”

Artemis was slightly surprised when instead of quipping back, Wally let the topic go, throwing his hands up in resignation as he turned towards the front. _Wally West staying quiet? That’s rare_ , Artemis thought with a breath of relief. _Maybe I’ll actually be able to get through this class in peace._

Her train of thought was broken when Zatanna leaned over her desk with a smile. “Hi, Wally,” she greeted the boy, prompting Artemis’ head to whip over to her direction so quickly that her blonde ponytail surely whipped the face of the poor student sitting behind her. If she was shooting daggers in Wally’s direction earlier, now they were pointed to Zatanna, which were returned with a shrug and a look of ‘ _what?_ ’ in her eyes.

“Zatanna.” Wally grinned, his gaze passing straight by Artemis. “Long time no see.”

“We all saw each other last week.”

“Yeah, but that barely counts. We weren’t even—”

“Wally,” Artemis cut him off. “Do everyone a favor and shut up.”

It wasn’t even an hour into the school day yet and her blood was already boiling.

Luckily, the rest of the class went by with relative ease. Adams miraculously finished his lecture with minimal service references and a few under-the-breath jokes from Wally which Artemis exasperatedly shut down. They were dismissed a few minutes early; Adams was probably, like Artemis, hanging onto the last seconds of summer. After pushing their chairs in, she split off from the other two, citing other places to be – thankfully, because there was no way she was going to subject herself to spending free period with Wally.

The library was nearly deserted when she got there, its only inhabitants being a few stragglers spending their free period camping out by the bookshelves and the librarian, Mr. Hall, seated behind the desk. Fortunately for Artemis, it was quiet save for the sound of the keyboard as she typed at one of the library’s computers – a much needed break from the already hectic first quarter of her day. With her elbow propping up her head, she stared at the screen, scrolling through her folders before double clicking the document she was looking for. Its print preview opened, the words ‘ERHS ARCHERY CLUB TRYOUT INFORMATION’ in bold at the top, with a small clip art of a target struck with arrows pasted below it. It wasn’t anything special, but it had to do. Her club was already pretty unknown at East River and lost a lot of its members with the graduating class last year. She needed some new meat.

When Artemis was appointed co-captain of the archery club last year, she thought she finally had something to care for, that she had found her niche. After all, it was a good use of her time and she had enjoyed being a part of the club in her freshman year because it allowed her to put a hobby she had grown up practicing to use in a somewhat constructive manner. Plus, she was good at it. In fact, she was one of the best, which was why she was given co-captainship so early. But with that, she soon realized, came the responsibilities, like training the rookies, organizing registration and travel to tournaments and recruiting new members.

But at least she didn’t have to worry about having all of the responsibility; her co-captain was equally as accountable for all of that– or was _supposed_ to be, at least.

As she was dragging and dropping the document into the printer queue, the library doors burst open, making way for the redheaded boy trudging into the room. He was slouched, his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans while the rest of his body was engulfed in a large black hoodie. Slowly, he made his way over to Artemis, who was watching his approach with a quirked brow.

“Wow, you look like shit,” said Artemis as Roy Harper slumped into the chair next to her, backpack still on as sunk into it, his ass sliding to the edge of the seat. His hair was disheveled, and upon closer look Artemis could see the deep bags etched below his eyes.

Roy grunted, eyes affixed on the table in front of him. “Thanks.”

Artemis chuckled dryly at her co-captain, returning her attention to the screen. “And I thought I was having a bad first day.”

“I didn’t get any sleep last night.”

She scoffed. “Bit early in the year for that, don’t you think? We don’t even have any homework yet.”

Ignoring her pointed remark, Roy reached up to run a hand down his face, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. He sighed. “Donna broke up with me last night.”

“Oh, shit…” Artemis froze, slowly turning her gaze back to the boy, “I’m sorry.” It was a whisper, as though anything louder would send a crack in his already broken façade. She was treading on unknown waters; they didn’t usually talk about stuff like this.

He didn’t reply; just sighed again, dipping his chin into the neck of his hoodie. Artemis frowned sadly.

“Wanna talk about it?” She offered.

At this, Roy let out a breath, tipping his gaze over to the blonde next to him. “Artemis Crock, showing compassion?” He mused with a dry tone.

“I can leave you to hang up all these posters on your own,” she warned.

Roy chuckled, but his face quickly became somber again. “We went for dinner last night. I knew our relationship was heading downhill for a while, but I thought we’d be able to get through it.”

“What did she say?”

“That we’ve grown apart and she doesn’t want to spend her senior year stuck in the same relationship.” Although he didn’t say it, Artemis knew he was going to tack on ‘boring’ to describe it. She never interacted with Donna Troy much when she and Roy were together, but from what she heard from Roy, they seemed like a normal high school couple: friends turned lovers, young and happy, taking it day by day. But when something like that goes on for long enough, people are bound to change. It was only a matter of time.

“That’s tough, Roy, I’m sorry. You guys were together for a while, too…”

“Over a year.”

Artemis looked down. _What a shitty way to start the year_ , she thought sadly, gazing at her friend with sympathy.

From somewhere behind her, she could hear the clicking and whirring of the library printer cease. With one last glance at her co-captain, she got up from her seat and headed towards the machine, emptying the tray of her fresh prints. When she returned, Roy was still curled up in his chair, eyes lidded and affixed to his lap. Artemis felt her heart crack a little bit.

“Hey, I can hang these posters up myself if you want to take a break,” she offered.

“No,” he insisted, standing up from his seat after suddenly regaining some energy. “I need something distracting.”

Artemis gave him a look but said nothing. Instead, she split the stack and handed half of it to him, as well as a roll of masking tape.

“I’ll take the west side.”

The rest of the day went by a little quicker after that. Although she had to suffer through another class with Wally, she was thankful it was only gym class and could channel her anger into something active, and that she had Dick and Roy with her too as a buffer. After lunch and her afternoon classes, Artemis found herself reunited with Dick, Barbara and Zatanna by her locker, where they started that morning, along with the rest of the student body flooding out into the halls after the final school bell of the day. There wasn’t much discussion between the four about what their plans were for after school, simply because they didn’t need to discuss it. They do it a lot already on days other than today, but for the first day of school, it was an undisputed tradition: a bite to eat at East River’s infamous Bibbo’s Diner.

It was far from empty when they got there, tables taken by groups of students with similar ideas as them, smiling as they chatted about their day or threw their heads back in laughter, or by older patrons who were winding down after a day of work, nursing a cup of coffee. The stench of fryer grease, unchanged over the years, always welcomed them when they stepped into the threshold, seeming to only get stronger as the windowed door fell shut behind them, the bell above it chiming as it sealed them in. The diner itself was something that also hadn’t changed, not since it first opened its doors however many decades ago. The tables were an off-white, stained from countless spills of coffee and crumbs, the seat cushions worn and lumpy from use. The bar, which took up the half the back wall of establishment, was busy with dish stacks, coffee machines, and Bibbo himself as he prepared the next order, its bar stools the kind that were built into the floor and squeaked when they turned. Clinging to the walls was still the same cheap paint, the blue considerably faded and covered by retro posters, framed news clippings, and coloured string lights that hung from where the wall met the ceiling – Christmas lights, really, if Bibbo didn’t keep them up year round. And despite how particular Bibbo was with mopping, there was never not spilled food on the tiled floor.

If there was any place in this town that oozed the spirit of East River, this was it.

It’s where they found themselves about twenty minutes after the school day ended, sitting in the same booth they always did, near the door and along the front window. They ordered their usual orders, which for Artemis was a chocolate milkshake – she didn’t know how Dick and Barb could stand the taste of the strawberry one – and shared stories of their first day and reminisced about their memories from the summer, like they always did, until the sky started to dim and Artemis’ stomach hurt from laughing so hard.

Even though it was the worst day of the year, this was the best part of it.

“I’m so glad I took Chemistry instead of Geography for fourth period,” Zatanna started as Artemis was still coming down from laughing at something Dick said. “Stein’s going to be the blessing that actually helps me understand thermo.”

“Plus, you don’t have to deal with my sister and her side-bitch,” added Artemis, slurping up the last of her shake with her straw.

Zatanna scrunched her face up in disgust, leaning back against the booth’s backrest. “Thank God. I can only take so much of Bette Kane.”

Dick shrugged from his spot across the table. “Bette’s not all that bad.”

“Just because you tapped that, Grayson, doesn’t mean you have to stay up her ass. Which, by the way, was _not_ your greatest moment,” said Zatanna, making Artemis stifle another laugh as Dick looked away and scratched the back of his neck. “I cannot _wait_ until she graduates.”

“Don’t hold your breath.” Barbara gave her best friend a look. “We still have one more year with her.”

Artemis groaned. “Trust me, if anyone’s counting down the days until those two finally leave, it’s me.”

Behind the bench Zatanna and Barbara were seated on, the front door to the diner cracked open, striking the chimes attached above the doorframe. Through the door came a particular redhead she hoped she wouldn’t have to see for the rest of the day, complete with his obnoxiously bright yellow-and-red windbreaker

Artemis sighed internally. Just when she thought the rest of the day was smooth sailing.

“Sorry I’m late, boys and girls,” Wally grinned as he reached the head of the table. He placed one of his hands at the table’s edge, setting his weight against it as he fist-bumped Dick with his other one. Artemis rolled her eyes.

Zatanna smirked up at the boy. “You know, for the school’s fastest track athlete, you sure show up late a lot.”

“ _Second_ fastest,” Barb corrected, “after—”

“—after Bart, yeah, yeah.” Wally scrunched up his nose, waving a hand in dismissal. “Yeah, I’m late, but couldn’t break tradition, could I?”

“Actually,” Dick started, reaching to grab his wallet from his back pocket, “I was just about to leave.” He rifled through it, pulling out a 20 – enough to cover all four of their milkshakes with plenty of tip.

“What? Dude! I just got here!”

“Sorry, man.” Dick stood from his seat, clapping his best friend on the back as he slid out of the booth. “But I got a date tonight.”

Wally grinned again. “Damn, already? It’s the first day of school.”

“Who’s the lucky girl?” Zatanna piped in.

Dick let out an awkward chuckle upon seeing all three of the girls’ curious gazes on him. “Raya Vestri,” he confessed.

“Raya from your Spanish class last year?” Barb asked, receiving a nod from Dick.

“Dude, nice!” Wally held out a fist to him, which Dick bumped with his own. “Is it a date, or a _date_?”

“Ew, Wally!” Artemis complained. The girls across the table from her rolled their eyes.

Dick laughed awkwardly, sharing Artemis’ discomposure. “I’m just taking her out to dinner,” he insisted, placing the 20-dollar bill on the table.

“No, Dick, we can pay for our own drinks,” said Zatanna as she started to dig through her bag for her wallet.

“Nah, it’s chill. My treat for making it through the first day of school.” Dick smiled, as if he wasn't one to jump at the bill every time, eager to bear the burden. He's definitely paid for more than a fair share of Artemis' meals since they've been friends, all without complaint. “Plus, I’m the one leaving early.” He shrugged on his jacket, clapping Wally on the back one more time before heading towards the door. “See you guys later.”

“Have fun!” Zatanna called out.

“But not too much fun!” Artemis added, snorting when Dick stuck up his middle finger as he slipped through the front door.

“So what were you guys talking about?” Wally asked, still standing.

“Mm, not much,” said Zatanna. She paused, eyes looking past Wally at another booth. “Is that Roy over there? I heard he and Donna just broke up.”

Wally turned to follow her gaze. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “I should go over and talk to him later. See if he’s okay.”

“How about right now?” Zatanna suggested.

“What? No I just got here, I gotta catch up with you guys.”

“It’s fine. Really.” She widened her eyes at him. “I insist.”

It took him a moment to understand what she was trying to do. “Oh… Yeah I’ll go talk to him. I’ll catch up with you guys later, though, yeah?”

“See you, Wall.” Barb gave him a thankful smile as he skipped off with a wave.

“Finally,” Zatanna grinned once he was out of ear shot, “some alone time with my girls.”

“Thank God,” Artemis exhaled, letting her back hit the cushion of the booth. “I thought that dumbass was never going to leave.”

“I don’t know why you hate him so much,” said Barb as she crossed her arms in front of her against the tabletop.

Artemis looked at her, bewildered. “Are you kidding? Do I really need to remind you about how truly annoying he is?” If she had to list off all of the reasons he was a nuisance, she would run out of fingers and toes.

“He’s not that bad anymore, Art.” Zatanna shrugged, gazing at her friend across the table. “You should give him a chance.”

“I think I’d rather dig my own grave.”

Barbara sighed. “You’re hopeless.”

“Says you.” Artemis leaned forward, drilling the redhead with her stare.

“What do you mean?”

“Please. Do I really have to explain it to you?” When Barbara just gave her a clueless look, Artemis shook her head. “Y’know, for the smartest girl in school, you can be really oblivious some times.”

Barb released a breathless chuckle, shrugging. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You and Dick. When are you going to cuff him?”

If Barbara was eating something at that moment, she surely would have choked. “Wha— Dick and I are just friends,” she explained, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“So ‘just friends’ look at each other like they want to rip each others’ clothes off?”

“We do not look at each other like that!” Barbara sunk back in her seat, knitting together her eyebrows as Zatanna and Artemis gave her unimpressed looks.

Zee turned to face the girl next to her. “Girl, I’ve been your best friend since grade six and I could’ve told you then how head over heels you were for Dick Grayson.” She threw her hands up when Barb opened her mouth to reply. “I know, I know, you guys love each other as best friends and always have, but you really have to confront the tension between you two sooner rather than later.

“Especially from what we’ve seen lately,” Zatanna continued. “I’m surprised you guys didn’t start dating over the summer with how disgustingly obsessed you two were with each other. You couldn’t get enough of each other.” Barb widened her eyes, looking to Artemis, who just laughed.

“It was pretty bad,” Artemis confessed.

“Plus, this is the longest he’s gone without being in a relationship since freshman year,” added Zatanna.

Barbara frowned. “Yeah, and? He doesn’t have to be a relationship all the time to be happy.”

“Or he’s waiting for somebody.”

“That’s not what’s happening.” Barbara was definitely persistent; Artemis could give her that. “Plus, he’s out on a date with another girl tonight!”

“It’s just one date.” When Barbara still looked unconvinced, Zatanna added, “You probably didn’t notice, but the entire time he was telling us about Raya, he was looking at you.”

Barbara went to reply again, but slowly closed her mouth. She went quiet, her face softening. She was running out of excuses and she knew it.

“But…” Barbara started. Artemis could tell she was scrambling. She turned to Zatanna with a desperate look painted on her face, settling for, “I don’t want to hurt _you_!”

“Oh, please, Barb.” Zatanna gave her an exasperated look. “Is that the best you can do?”

“I’m being serious! You’re my best friend.”

“Girl, that was freshman year.”

“You guys dated for a while.”

“Yeah, on and off. And we’re friends now, which we both couldn’t be happier about.” Zatanna let her shoulders relax, placing a hand on her friend’s arm. “And part of the reason we broke up the last time is because I knew he had feelings for you.”

“Yeah, right.” Barbara rolled her eyes, but Artemis could spot a hint of a smile playing at her lips.

Zatanna sighed, meeting her friend’s gaze head on. “You put your feelings on hold when Dick and I were together. If you need my blessing – which you shouldn’t – then here it is. Stop making excuses for your feelings and go for it, Barb.”

It was only after the other two girls shot her expectant gazes that Barbara finally sighed. “Look guys, of course I love him,” she smiled sadly. “But I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship. Dick’s been my best friend since we were kids and…” She trailed off, looking out the window as if the words she was looking for would be hidden between the parked cars. “I don’t know… I don’t want to lose him.”

“You won’t, trust me.” Zatanna gave her a reassuring smile. “If you keep telling yourself you will, it’ll never happen between you two.”

Hearing her friend’s reassurance, Barbara took a deep breath, settling back into her seat and glancing at the clock above the cash register. “I should get going. I’m meeting my dad at the station for dinner.”

After Zatanna slid out of the booth to let Barbara out and pulled her into a warm hug, she smiled at her friend once more. “Just think about it, okay? You guys would be cute.”

Once Barbara was gone, Zatanna crawled back into the booth with a sigh. Artemis snuck a peek at her phone; it was nearing six o-clock. “It is actually getting pretty late,” she noted.

Sure enough, the diner was starting to empty at that point, with only a few stragglers left enjoying some casual meals. Even Wally and Roy were gone.

“I guess I should go home, too,” Zatanna suddenly stated, her gaze fixed on her hands as she fumbled with her bag. “Before my dad calls Bibbo asking how much longer I’ll be.” And as quick as she was to sit back down she was on her feet again, pulling her blazer jacket over her shoulders and procuring her car keys from the front pocket of her bag.

She finally glanced back to Artemis. “Do you want a ride home?”

“No, it’s okay. It’s not that far of a walk to my place.” Artemis gave her a reassuring smile, choosing to move to pack up her own things while Zatanna smiled in assent, shouldering her bag. It was only when the last of her dark hair slipped through the front door that Artemis finally let herself frown, narrowing her eyes at where her friend had just been standing.

The house was dark when Zatanna got home, the cutting of her car’s headlights plunging the façade into darkness as she took the keys out of the ignition. She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and got out of the car, closing her door as quietly possible even though she knew no one would be around to hear; the property was surrounded by tall hedges and forest, the driveway itself being gated off and stretching far from the road. Still, it was unmistakably quiet, save for rattling of her keys as she fumbled with the lock on the front door. And when she finally heard the lock click and she pushed through the door into the house, she took a moment to take in her surroundings.

Empty. Just as she had left it that morning.

Closing the door behind her, she tossed her keys into the dish by the front window and toed off her shoes. She tiptoed down the dark left hallways towards the kitchen, submerging the room in a harsh light as she flicked on the light switch. Without thought, she made her way over to the refrigerator, pulling from one of those minute-made microwave dinners – the same kind she had yesterday, and the day before.

As she set the time on the microwave with her soon-to-be-meal inside, she leaned back against the counter, the soft whirring of the machine providing ambience as she observed the scene in front of her.

It was a kitchen that felt too big with just her in it. The breakfast table was bare, chairs still dislodged from the last time it was used, weeks ago. She knew the windows on the outside walls showed nothing but darkness on the other side of the glass, which is why she decided after everything that happened to keep the blinds closed. Every inch of the kitchen counters was clean, bare of all traces of life, except for one blemish.

A note, hastily scrawled on a piece of lined paper folded in half, lying lifelessly in the middle of the kitchen island.

Zatanna already knew what it said. She’d read it over millions of times. Even from where she was standing she could see the creases in the paper from where she had been gripping it so tightly.

Still, she felt her hands itch towards the note, to read it over again, to look for a detail that she missed, even though she knew there weren’t any.

Taking a deep breath, she reached over to grab the note, unfolding the paper and running her hands over the creases. In the middle of the sheet were the same words she’d memorized, painted in black ink and signed with three bold scratches, staring back up at her like a curse.

**_Notify the authorities and we’ll kill him. Do not come looking._ **

Zatanna let her eyes fall shut, feeling a teardrop run down her cheek.

“I’ll find you, Dad. I promise.”


	2. Summer Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer changes people, especially when you spend the entirety of it away from your best bud. He just didn't want to believe it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if I mentioned this before, but each chapter follows a different character in the story.
> 
> Sorry for the slow updates on this!

**CHAPTER TWO**  
“SUMMER BLUES“

**TODAY WAS A SPECIAL DAY.**

Most kids probably hated the first day of school. Who would want to go back to a cement cage for the better part of a year? Sure, he could admit the classes were less-than-favourable – Mr. Adams’ history class could attest to that – but high school wasn’t just about academics and homework. For him it was about the people, his friends, classmates, even the kids in his grade that he didn’t particularly like. Yeah, summer was great, but he definitely missed seeing the faces of a lot of people every day; there’s no place like the halls of East River. It was the people that made coming off of an amazing three months of summer and going back to school worth it.

That’s why, for Jaime, today was a special day. That, and it was the first day of sophomore year. No longer would Jaime Reyes be on the wrong end of freshman frosh.

It was for these reasons that Jaime was buzzing in anticipation in the passenger seat of his mom’s grand caravan, knee bouncing and hands gripping the straps of his backpack so hard his knuckles were turning white as they inched closer, block by block, to East River High School.

“If you bounce your leg any more, _mi hijo_ , you’re going to drill straight through the floor,” said his mother in Spanish from her spot behind the wheel. Jaime looked up as he stopped moving his leg; they were stopped at a red light and she was eyeing him through the corner of her eye with a fond smile.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jaime replied in English. “I’m just excited.”

Behind him, his sister, Milagro, kicked the back of his seat. “Why are you excited? It’s _school_.”

Jaime shot her a look over his shoulder. _How can she already hate school? She’s only in grade seven._

“He’s just excited to see his friends, _mi hija_ ,” their mother offered, glancing at the younger girl through the rearview mirror.

Milagro scrunched up her nose. “More like he’s just excited to finally see his boyfriend again.”

Jaime groaned. “For the last time, he’s not my boyfriend!” He was Jaime’s best friend though, and he certainly was looking forward to seeing him. “And yes, I’m excited to see my friends, but I’m also excited for my other stuff, like soccer.” Beside him, he let a hand rest against the top of his gym bag, which he knew held his cleats, shin guards, and other gear he would need for soccer tryouts after school.

That was definitely another reason among the many why he was looking forward to today. While he had a couple chances to play in some games over the last few months, that was always against the same people, and they were almost always at least a man short on either team. On the other hand, not only did the Titans soccer team have a full roster, but they also got to travel to neighbouring towns to play the schools there; to say he’d been waiting all summer to get back on the school’s soccer pitch would be an understatement.

As they pulled into the school parking lot, Jaime could feel his eyes light up at the sight before him. Even though the student body population of East River wasn’t the most monumental, the sheer amount of people weaving through cars and congregating around the school building in an ocean of bright clothes and greetings to friends sure made it seem bigger. With the morning sun soaring high into the sky at that point, the school cast a warm shadow against the pavement with remnants of the summer heat, rays poking through the branches of the surrounding trees, and behind those the lights from the football field peeked over the brush. He could hear the chatter from the students through the van’s rolled up window. Jaime grinned.

Once Jaime’s mom shifted the car into park beside the curb in front of the doors, Jaime was quick to unbuckle his seatbelt and throw open his door, threading his arms through both his backpack and gym bag.

“Will you be home for dinner?” His mother asked as he stepped out of the car.

“I’ll try to be.” Judging by the soft smile she gave him, Jaime guessed that answer was good enough for her.

After their normal ‘have a good day’s and ‘I love you’s and Milagro’s “ _say hi to your boyfriend for me_ ” to which Jaime replied with a glare, the van finally pulled off from the curb, setting course for Milagro’s middle school while Jaime set off towards the front doors.

The air conditioner hit him like a wave once he stepped inside, the cold air prickling his face along with the unpleasant burn of his eyes adjusting to the school’s fluorescent lights. Like the parking lot, the school lobby was equally as busy, most of its occupants either reuniting with fellow classmates or headed to their destinations, with the rest probably being freshmen swimming in the deep ocean, trying to find out where they’re supposed to be.

Again, thank God he wasn’t a freshman anymore.

Without a second thought, Jaime set off up the stairwell on the right, hiking his bags further up his shoulders as he climbed. He could feel the familiar squeak of the rubber stairs beneath his sneakers with every step he took, passing by many familiar faces on his way, many of which he acknowledged with a smile and an occasional clap of hands or fist bump. These were the people he was happy to see after the last few months, but, admittedly, not the one he was looking forward to seeing most.

As he climbed the next step, he felt his phone vibrate in the pocket of his joggers. Stopping momentarily, he reached in and pulled out his phone, smiling slightly at the sight of his new lockscreen that he’d set a few days ago behind the notification.

It was a text. ‘ _sorry, got caught up talking to my captain and lost track of time,’_ it read.

‘ _that’s ok,_ ’ Jaime typed back. ‘ _meet me in the third floor lounge at free period? :)_ ’

‘ _of course. can’t wait ;)’_ said the reply. Jaime grinned, lingering on the screen for a second longer before pocketing his phone.

After another set of stairs, he finally got to his locker, which was in the same place it was last year and the same place it will be in for the next three. Rolling the sleeves of his grey hoodie to his elbows, Jaime twirled the combo lock in a pattern he’d come to memorize, clicking open the handle and pulling free the door with a metal creak. He dumped his gym bag onto its spot on the floor of his locker with a thud; the hooks at the top of the cubby were unfortunately broken off before Jaime was assigned to it.

If he had to admit it, Jaime got stuck with a less-than-desirable locker, it being on the third floor and so far into the west wing he could always smell the faint burning from Mr. Palmer’s physics classroom whenever an experiment went wrong, which was probably more often than it should have been. He would request a locker change, but that means he wouldn’t be only a few lockers away from his best–

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, pushing him forwards into his locker with such force that he had to use his hands to stop him from falling into it. Jaime could hear bright laughter in his ear as he steadied himself; he didn’t even have to look to know who it was, nor to know that this was another reason, if not the most important reason today was so special.

“Hermano!” Bart Allen grinned as he gave Jaime one last squeeze before pulling away. “Long time no see, buddy!”

Jaime couldn’t help the smile creeping onto his lips as he turned to face his best friend. In front of him was the same boy he’d been best friends with since Jaime’s family moved to East River years ago, complete with the familiar, toothy smile, the baseball tee Jaime knew was his favourite, the freckles and the mop of dark ginger hair on top of his head that, if he paid close enough attention, was slightly longer than when Jaime last saw him. Wasting no time at all, Jaime pulled Bart into another, proper hug.

“Bart!” Jaime beamed into his shoulder. “How was your trip, _esé_?”

It was almost three months since Jaime last saw Bart. A week after school ended for the summer last year, Bart and his parents went to spend the break with some family friends in Keystone City. He’d begged Barry and Iris to let Jaime come along; _He knows the Garricks_! he’d said. _They’d love to have him!_ Long story short, they didn’t take the bait; having another kid on their hands for the whole summer across the country, even if it was their son’s best friend, was kind of a big responsibility.

So Jaime was stuck spending his summer vacation alone in East River. Well, relatively alone; he did have his other friends around and would call Bart every now and then. And although it was a total drag not having his best friend around during the summer, things weren’t all that bad. Who knows – if Bart stayed back over the summer, maybe Jaime wouldn’t have gotten a—

His train of thought was broken when a burst of energy and words poured out from the boy in front of him – as they often did. “It was so great! Keystone City is so _big_ – at least compared to East River, anyway. There’s not as many trees there though, but they do have this really good pizza place the Garricks took us to on our last day – I’ll have to bring you there sometime whenever we go back. And we had this big party for Joan’s birthday and I got to meet all of their friends and even some people Dad knew from back in the day in CC. Plus, they got me hooked on this fun sitcom from the 70’s about this girl—” He was speaking so quickly Jaime could only catch every other word.

“Whoa, slow down, _hermano_. You’re gonna run out of oxygen.”

“Sorry, I just can’t believe I haven’t seen you for three months. We have so much to catch up on.” Bart grinned languidly before standing straight up again as a thought sparked in his mind, lightly bumping his head with the butt of his hand in a very animated manner. “Ugh, hello, Megan!”—Jaime shot him a confused glance at his words but Bart didn’t seem to notice—“How was _your_ summer, dude? I haven’t even asked yet.”

At this, Jaime could feel his heart flutter as his mind lingered back to what he did over the summer without his best friend. “I’ve actually got something to tell you. You’re not going to believe it, but I finally—”

Before he could explain any further, the sound of a school bell resonated from the speakers above them. “Ah, shoot. Guess you’ll have to tell me about it during free period, amigo.” Bart sighed, pulling the straps of his bag tighter over his shoulders. “I’ve got chemistry with Stein so I gotta run if I want to make it before the second bell. You know how it is. I’ll catch you after class!”

And as quick as Bart was moving his mouth earlier, he was off, his legs nearly a blur as they carried him through the students and down the hall. Jaime released a fond chuckle as he watched his friend go, pulling the second strap of his backpack over his shoulder as he shut the door of his locker.

Although he didn’t have his first class with his best friend – God forbid he take Chemistry again after _that_ train wreck last year – English class was one of Jaime’s favourites, even though he didn’t particularly know why. Maybe it was because English came easy to him, in a way that stoichiometry and kinematics never could. Maybe it was because there were actually a lot of literary and Shakespearean references in the video games he played that he, dare he say it, actually found somewhat interesting. Maybe it was because since freshman English, Ms. Prince had taken a quick liking to Jaime’s relative quietness, attentiveness and good-hearted nature and decided he would not be one of the ones constantly drilled under her strong but stern eye.

Either way, one could say he very much liked English class.

The classroom was nearly full when Jaime walked in, and buzzing with life. The desks were lined up in neat rows at the centre of the room, equally spaced from each of the walls meticulously stamped with educational posters and the occasional work of art done by a loving student and kept as a keepsake. At the front was the teacher’s desk stationed in front of the whiteboards, where Ms. Prince was leaning against the tabletop engaged in a conversation with a student.

Breathing in the atmosphere he had missed, Jaime scanned the bustling classroom and quickly spotted his friends in the mix, seated near the front.

Virgil Hawkins looked up as Jaime approached him, shooting the boy a welcome grin. “Hey, man.”

“Hey, _hermano_ ,” replied Jaime, clapping and locking his hand with Virgil’s outstretched one in greeting.

Although Jaime wasn’t as close with Virgil as he was with Bart – nobody could match Bart, really – they were still good friends, the type that sat together in class and during lunch when there wasn’t anybody else, and who shared the occasional joke. He was one of those people that he naturally became friends during the confusion of freshman year, having mutual friends and a similar sense of humor and all that.

“Dude, you look the exact same as when I last saw you,” said Virgil, taking in Jaime’s appearance. “Do you even own any other sweaters?”

“It’s my favourite,” Jaime shrugged, running a hand down the front of the gray cotton. With a sigh, he let his backpack fall off his shoulder and at the leg of the empty desk behind Virgil and next to another boy, sporting short brown hair and a green shirt beneath his letterman jacket. Jaime nodded at him with a smile as he sat down. “’Sup, Gar.”

Garfield Logan, greeting him back with a toothy grin, clapped his hand with Jaime’s in a similar manner as before. Even though Jaime wasn’t as close with Gar, they were still friends in every sense of the word; sitting together in class and working in the same group for projects, and sharing that unspoken understanding found in the intertwining branches of East River’s network.

“Hold up,” said Jaime as he retracted his arm, nodding at Gar’s dark green jacket with its chunky cream sleeves, complete with orange stripes for accents, a bold ‘ER’ emblem on the breast and the number 19 inscribed on the left bicep. “Why am I the one getting all the crap for wearing the same thing when this _tonto_ literally wears the same jacket every day?”

“Hey now. Don’t disrespect the drip.”

Jaime grinned. “What’s it gonna take for you to switch over to soccer?”

Gar was a running back for the Titans’ football team. That role in itself meant he had some serious speed _and_ strategy; he was often compared to a tiger for how fast and calculated he moved, on top of being an aggressive player. Not to mention Jaime had played a fair share of rec soccer games with the kid and he definitely had some skill with his feet. It was definitely a shame Jaime let him be turned over to the side of high school football.

Gar smirked, leaning back in his seat and burying his hands into the pockets of the signature jacket. “That, my friend, is not a possibility.”

After the second bell rang through the school, all the students in the classroom took their seats, reorienting themselves towards the front and their attention towards where Ms. Prince was leaning against the front of her desk.

“Welcome back, everyone.” She smoothed out the front of her blouse before letting her hands come to rest against the edge of the desk, allowing her shoulders to relax as she eyed over the class. She had a pair of glasses pushed up into her hair, a waterfall of dark brown cascading down her back.

If Jaime knew he was one of Ms. Prince’s favourite students, he knew she was one of his favourite teachers, too. Diana Prince was the epitome of powerful, a strong woman who was both caring and able to see through somebody’s shit with ease. She was one of those teachers who actually cared for their students and facilitated their learning, pushing them to be their best selves. Especially compared to some of the other teachers in East River, Ms. Prince was one of the greatest. Virgil and him had started a bet at some point last year about who would win in a fight between her and Coach Queen. Ms. Prince was the obvious choice.

“I hope you all had a good summer,” she continued. She was scanning the class from left to right, eyes flitting over the students while she spoke before landing on a girl who was seated on the far right of the class at the back, almost overlooked in the crowd of students.

“Excuse me, miss,” Ms. Prince interjected, patiently waiting for the girl to look up from her notebook. “Can you please take out your earbuds?”

_Miss? Miss who?_

Along with the rest of the class, Jaime turned in his seat to see who she was speaking to. Sure enough, there was a girl seated next to the window at the back. She was small in her seat, her arms crossed over her black hoodie as she gazed out through the glass, clearly not paying attention. Beneath her hood the tips of her purple-dyed hair peeked out, along with the cord of her earbuds running down towards her pocket.

In an instant, the soft sound of whispers erupted throughout the class – and Jaime knew exactly why. New kids in East River were pretty rare, the last – other than a girl in the year above him who moved in with her uncle in East River last year – being… well, him, probably. The town was small, incredibly so, and with all of them being residents, they would probably be able to recognize every single face, even the students that go to the elementary and middle schools. New people to the town of East River just didn’t happen.

But this girl, with her purple hair and in her black hoodie and jeans, was a face he’d never seen before.

Upon sensing the silence, the girl’s gaze slowly turned back to the classroom, her eyes widening slightly at the scene. Who could blame her; everybody was looking at her.

Slowly she removed her earbuds and for a couple seconds her music could just barely be heard in the quiet of the class before she turned it off on her phone; it sounded like rock. She crossed her arms tighter over her torso as she looked up at Ms. Prince.

“Sorry,” she murmured, so quietly people on the other side of the room probably didn’t hear her.

Back at the front, Ms. Prince gave her a warm smile. “That’s alright. Thank you.”

And just like that, everybody turned back towards the front, although some were still whispering amongst themselves about the new revelation. Jaime followed suit, giving the girl one last glance before returning his attention to Ms. Prince, along with the rest of the class. However, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gar’s head still turned, gaze lingering on the girl at the back of the room. He stayed like that for a few more seconds before he finally pivoted back.

The presence of the new girl soon became forgotten, Jaime already settled back into his seat, Ms. Prince a few words into her lecture, when, through the open classroom door, a tall, dark-haired boy tiptoed into the room, causing Jaime’s eyebrow to quirk. He had his hands pocketed in his letterman jacket and his head bowed, and he didn’t so much as look to the front before he started heading to one of the classroom’s empty desks without so much as a fuss; Jaime almost thought he was actually going to come in undetected.

Ms. Prince cleared her throat from her position in front of her desk. “Mr. Todd.”

Well, almost.

At the sound of his name, Jason halted his movements like a deer caught in headlights – except these headlights spanned every inch of the classroom floor; Ms. Prince may have liked Jaime, but Jason sure didn’t share the same luxury.

With a sigh, he turned, standing upright with a toothy grin. “Ms. Prince. Fancy seeing you here.”

At the cracking up of a couple people in the class, the corners of Ms. Prince’s mouth quirked upwards. “Likewise. Interestingly enough, I thought the same exact thing about you every time I facilitated detention last year.”

It turned out this was a sufficient enough burn for Ms. Prince as the class quickly turned from stifled giggles to a chorus of ‘ooh’s, with Jason’s mischievous resolve crumbling a bit as he continued his trek to his seat. With a satisfied upturn of her chin, she stood up from the tabletop, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder as she circled her desk. “As I was saying…” she started.

As Jason made his way down the aisle beside Jaime’s desk, he found himself stopped by Virgil, who had held out a fist for him to bump and asked him where he was.

“Got caught up with my younger brother,” explained Jason. “It’s his first day of freshman year.”

“There’s _another_ one of you?” Virgil looked bewildered. “How many siblings do you _have_?”

With a soft chuckle, Jason continued his trek to the back of the classroom.

“You have no idea.”

If Jaime could have caught a photo of Virgil’s face upon hearing that, he would have.

After the class bell rang and signified the end of first period, Jaime quickly made his way up the stairs to the third floor lounge, weaving around the students piling out of their classrooms. The lounge was on the east side, on the opposite end of the school from his locker, stationed between the art classroom and an emergency stairwell with windows that looked down onto the gymnasium. It was small, with only a couple couches, tables and chairs scattered around the floor, but it was a characteristic that made it less popular than the other lounges and, therefore, a great place to meet up with somebody alone.

Jaime dropped his backpack at the foot of one of the couches and plopped himself down onto the cushions, pulling out his phone and typing out a quick text.

‘ _hey, I’m in the lounge now’_

As he hit send and went to pocket his phone once more, a blur came barrelling through the door, catching himself on the doorframe with his free hand while his other gripped the strap of his bag. The sudden stop made his dark red bangs fall into his eyes, making him comb it back as he caught his breath.

“Finally! It took me _forever_ to find you, hermano! I should’ve known you’d be in here.”

Bart beamed as he started at a slower, more natural pace to where his friend was sitting, setting his belongings down at the couch opposite him. Jaime released a breathless chuckle, taking a peek at the time on his phone that was still only halfway into his pocket.

“It’s three minutes into free period, Bart.”

With a large sigh, Bart relaxed into the couch, throwing his arm over the backrest. “Man, I love science but I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to handle this Chem class. Don’t get me wrong, Stein’s a great teacher, but he’s just so _old_. Like, he talks _so_ slow, I could fall asleep.” Catching Jaime stifle a laugh, Bart grinned. “I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

They spoke for a few more minutes about his chemistry class – or more like Bart told Jaime all about it – before the topic fizzled away and Bart sat up in his seat. “Anyway, dude,” he started with a grin, “it’s Bart and Jaime time now! I want to know all about your summer.”

Right as Jaime opened his mouth to reply, another person came through the door, her long brown hair falling over her shoulders as she surveyed the room with her hazel gaze. She quickly met Jaime’s eyes and beamed, her freckled cheeks glowing.

Jaime sat up, matching her grin as he felt the pace of his heart pick up. “There you are!” He exclaimed.

Traci Thurston released an apologetic laugh as she made her way over to where the two boys were sitting. “Sorry, Mr. Carr kept us in a little late,” she said as she set her bag down, taking the spot next to Jaime.

As she sat down, hip-to-hip with the boy next to her, Jaime lifted his arm and placed it over her shoulders, allowing her to nuzzle in and plant a sneaky kiss to the boy’s cheek. Jaime smiled down at her.

However, across from them, Bart was not sharing the same joyous reaction. In fact, he looked as though he just saw a ghost.

“Bart,” Jaime began, paying no attention to the reaction of his friend on the opposite couch, “this is what I’ve been trying to tell you about all morning! I don’t know how I did it, but”—he glanced down to the girl under his arm with a smile—“Traci and I are dating!”

“Oh, shut up, cutie.” Traci giggled. “You know exactly how you did it.”

It took a couple more seconds of the couple gazing into each others’ eyes for Bart to reply. “That’s great!”

“Yeah, we started dating over the summer while you were away.” Jaime explained, returning his gaze to his friend. “One day I was practicing soccer alone and Traci was walking by the field and stopped to say hi. Next thing I know…”

And it was then that Bart saw Jaime smile the widest he’d seen all morning.

“Are you okay, Bart?” Traci leaned forward, regarding the redhead with thoughtful eyes. “You look like you’re thinking about something.”

“No, I’m good.” Bart let out a chuckle through a toothless smile. “I—uh, I actually just realized I forgot my phone in class.” He barely finished speaking before he stood up from the couch, scooping up his bag in the process. “So I should probably go get it.”

“Oh… okay.” Jaime hoped his disappointment wasn’t evident in his voice. He was looking forward to catching up with his best friend.

“Yeah, sorry,” said Bart as he pulled his backpack over his shoulders. “But I’ll talk to you later?”

“Sure thing, _es_ _é._ Let me know when you find your phone.”

After Bart walked out of the classroom, Traci turned to her boyfriend, placing a hand on his chest as she frowned. “Is he okay? He seemed a little off.”

Jaime gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m sure he’s fine, _cariña_. He had a pretty rough first period.” He pulled his arm closer around her shoulders as he spared one last glance at the empty doorway. “We’ll catch up with him later.”

Jaime didn’t see Bart for the rest of the day. It turns out that they didn’t have any classes together, which was a stark change from their matching schedules the year before. Even at lunch, where for the past year they always ate together in the quieter end of the cafeteria, Bart was nowhere to be found – a curious but encouraging fact that made Jaime feel less bad about having already made lunch plans with Traci.

After his afternoon classes – Mechanics class followed by Grade 10 Math with Mr. Stewart, made a little more bearable with Traci in the desk next to his – Jaime found his focus on the matter at hand lost among his thoughts about his interaction with Bart earlier, just as he got lost in the crowds of students on his way to the locker room after the ring of the final school bell dissipated. The previous excitement he had for soccer tryouts after school was effectively overshadowed by worry for his best friend. Even when he stepped out on the pitch in his soccer cleats, breathing fresh air for the first time in a few hours, he still couldn’t get rid of the wrinkle in his brow.

Once Jaime slowed to a stop after his last lap of warm up, he barely had a chance to stand up straight before a practice ball trickled toward his feet, a voice accompanying it in its path.

“You good, bro?”

Eduardo Dorado Jr. stood a few meters away, equipped with his own set of cleats and soccer shorts, unruly black hair falling over his forehead as he met Jaime’s gaze.

“Yeah, just thinking,” said Jaime absentmindedly as he kicked the ball back to his friend. The booming voice of Coach Kord could be heard from behind his friend, regarding some of the new freshmen trying out.

Like Virgil, Ed was a friend Jaime had made in freshman year, and became a go-to person he and Bart could sit with in class. The four of them had often crashed together for lunch, and with Ed and him being on the soccer team together, they quickly became good friends, making Jaime wonder why they hadn’t become closer before high school. Still, with Jaime having only Bart for so many years, he was grateful that the move to high school allowed him and Bart to make their tiny circle of friendship a little bigger.

“Actually, _hermano_ ,” Jaime found himself saying, causing Ed to renew his curiosity. “Did you see Bart today? I haven’t seen him at all since free period, I think he might’ve went home early.”

Ed paused, his eyebrows creasing in thought. “No, no, I definitely saw him,” he began as he mentally skimmed through his day. “I didn’t see him at lunch but I have my afternoon classes with him. He was definitely in class.”

“Oh.” Jaime looked down towards the blades of grass crushed beneath his feet. “Weird.”

Sensing Jaime’s trouble, Ed quickly added, “Maybe he went home for lunch. That could be why you didn’t see him.”

Jaime scratched the back of his neck guiltily, his mind drifting back to the meal he shared with Traci at lunch. “Maybe.”

In one swift motion, he popped the resting practice ball up into the air with the toe of his boot, juggling it a few times on the tops of his feet before letting it fall back to the ground after a couple bounces as Ed spoke up again.

“Now that I think about it though,” said Ed, “Bart did seem a little off when I saw him.” When Jaime opened his mouth to reply, Ed reassured him with a hand, adding, “Which just means he was talking at a normal human pace, _hermano_.”

Jaime chuckled at this; they both knew Ed’s claim about Bart and normalcy – or, rather, his lack thereof was completely true.

Before they could continue their conversation, the sound of a whistle pierced through the air, soon followed by Coach Kord, who was standing at the centre of the reconvened group.

“Reyes! Dorado! Hurry up and bring it in, or you’ll be subbing our first five games!”

As the two boys started the trek towards the group, Ed joined Jaime at his side, clapping him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it too much, _amigo_ ,” he said. “I’m sure he’s just having the post-summer blues.”

Jaime, feeling the grass crunch beneath the spikes on his boots as his legs moved, pumping his arms to the rhythm, released a sigh. Ed was probably right. After all, even though Jaime was really looking forward to today, there was still a part of him that wasn’t quite ready to let go of summer. For Bart, the feeling was probably threefold at the least.

Jaime gave his friend a thankful, tight-lipped grin. “Yeah… I think you’re right.”

The rest of the tryout went fairly smoothly after that. It felt good to be back on Titans’ turf, getting touches on the ball and working drills with his teammates again. Even though later on in the session Jaime was breathing hard enough that the hairs on the back of his neck were damp with sweat, these couple hours were no doubt a highlight of his day, and distracting enough to almost make him forget what he was worried about in the first place.

The sun had taken a considerable dip in the sky by the time Ted called the group back in to end practice. “The roster will be posted outside the gym by Thursday at lunch,” he said as Jaime took a swig from his water bottle, hovering at the edge of the group. “Good work today, guys.”

After Jaime finished helping wrangle the practice balls into their mesh bag, he was finally able to sneak away to the locker room which, as expected, was congested with the overwhelming aroma of soccer practice in the heat. Jaime scrunched up his nose as he made his way to his gym locker, his movements licked with urgency as he stripped off his socks and pulled his hoodie over his head. As he shut his locker door and looped the strap of his gym bag over his shoulder, in the front mesh pocket of his bag his phone screen lit up; a text notification from Traci was splayed out in front of his lockscreen – a photo of the two of them at a campfire last weekend.

‘ _hey we’re almost done in the gymnasium (:’_

With a grin, Jaime slipped on his sneakers and headed for the locker room door, weaving between the people still changing out of their sweaty soccer outfits. He ran a hand through his slightly-overgrown hair as he rounded the corner and pushed open the door, his eyes quickly adjusting to the natural light from the windows at the end of the corridor, a stark contrast from the artificial luminescence of the locker room. And just as he was about to head towards the gymnasium, he was also quick to notice the redheaded figure lingering a few meters away, along the opposite wall.

But not as quickly as the figure noticed him.

“Jaime!” Bart exclaimed, his signature toothy grin painted across his cheeks.

“ _Hermano_!” Jaime could feel his own eyes light up as he stepped towards his friend. “Where have you been all day? What are you still doing here so late?”

“I was catching up with Wally after school. Wanted to go over some of my first day physics homework with him.” He grimaced slightly, muttering a small ‘ _thanks Mr. Palmer_ ’ as he scratched the back of his neck. “And sorry I missed you at lunch. I got caught up talking with Mr. Pierce about my electronics project from last year. Who knew the first day of school could be so busy, huh?”

“Tell me about it, _es_ _é._ ” Jaime sighed, running a hand through his hair again. “Did you find your phone?”

“Huh?” Bart looked up, a moment of confusion passing over his face before the question registered. “Oh, yeah, I did. Left it right there on my desk.” He released a short, quiet chuckle.

Jaime gave his friend a relieved grin. “Good thing nobody took it.”

“So anyway,” Bart continued, “now that we’re both done, do you want to hang out? I got this new co-op Xbox game in Keystone City and I’ve been dying to play it with my gaming partner-in-crime.” He wiggled his brows and nudged Jaime’s shoulder.

Jaime smiled sadly. “Sorry, I would but I already made plans with Traci.” He reached behind himself to his bag and into the pocket where his phone was being kept. Her text notification was still on display atop his lock screen. “I was just about to pick her up from cheerleading practice.”

As Jaime glanced back down towards his phone, Bart felt his smile falter. “Oh, okay,” he said quietly. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Well, I probably have a couple minutes if you wanted to talk for a bit,” said Jaime, his phone still clutched in his hand.

“No, it’s alright. You probably shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

As Jaime met Bart’s eyes, he could tell there was something different about them, as though their glint had disappeared as his chin so slightly dipped towards the ground, or that the green of his irises just wasn’t as bright as before.

 _Post summer blues_ , Jaime told himself.

“Okay.” Jaime stepped forward, clapping his friend on the shoulder and offering him a half-grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then, _hermano_.”

As Jaime walked away, his back finally turned as he set course towards his girlfriend, Bart frowned and let his gaze fall towards his shoes, releasing the sigh he was holding onto after his friend disappeared around the corner. His hands soon found the pockets of his jeans and he leaned his back against the wall he was standing in front of. He felt the tips of his bangs tickling his brow as he blew the oxygen out through his lips, as though deflating whatever was left to be excited for on what was supposed to be a special day.

Bart closed his eyes and let the back of his head hit the wall behind him. He really didn’t feel like doing much of anything, now.

Just as he was opening his eyes, he saw a figure coming out through the locker room door, giving the hallway a once-over before his gaze landed on him.

“Hey, Bart!” Ed greeted happily as he strode over towards the boy. “Jaime was looking for you.”

“Yeah, I just spoke to him,” said Bart, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets and offering his friend the best smile he could muster at the moment – which probably wasn’t very convincing.

He was right. “Why the long face?” Ed asked, putting his hand on Bart’s shoulder.

Bart shook his head. “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

“I don’t think I believe you, _hermano_ ,” said Ed, narrowing his eyes. When Bart didn’t reply, Ed’s face softened. “But you know what always cheers anybody up?”

“What?”

There was a twinkle in Ed’s eye as he clapped the redhead on his shoulder. “A milkshake at Bibbo’s,” Ed grinned, gesturing towards the doors at the end of the hall. “C’mon.”

Bart wanted to roll his eyes at Ed’s reasoning, but he couldn’t because he knew it was true. Plus, he hadn’t been to Bibbo’s yet since he got back, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been craving a strawberry shake all summer.

So as he followed Ed out the door, he took a deep breath, exhaling away all of his nagging worries – or trying to, at least – as the door clicked shut behind them.

After all, it was the end of the day. There was always tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> All art is my own.


End file.
